Disposable syringe having frangible means for mixing plural medicaments



//l// EA/ 0/Q J. E. SOUTHERLAND DISPOSABLE SYRINGE HAVING FRANGIBLE MEANS FOR MIXING PLURAL MBDICAMENTS Flled March 8, 1965 Nov. 28, 1967 Jfl/WES ET SOUTA/EELAWVD) 0565/4650 5) 4 M34515 771 LEE JJUWIE/QL 4/u0 40mm 6724779/1 United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE A syringe for injecting fluids into the body and basically consisting of a collapsible bulb and a tubular nozzle detachably connected to the bulb for conveying fluids from the bulb into the body. The nozzle has one end which encircles a neck portion of the bulb, and a medicament chamber is provided in this one end and is covered by a frangible cap. The cap carries a flange which projects into the path of movement of the neck portion of the bulb as the nozzle is moved toward the bulb in an axial direction. Cooperation between the flange and the outer or free end of the neck portion of the bulb during such movement effectively ruptures the frangible cap to release medicament from the chamber into the bulb.

This invention relates to syringes of the type used to inject medicaments into the human body through the natural body openings, such as the vagina and anus. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, this invention relates to a small, disposable pneumatic syringe which may be utilized once and then discarded.

Many types of syringes have heretofore been used for irrigating, cleaning, and medicating certain internal organs of the body by injecting various fluids through the natural body openings. Most frequently, these comprise a rubber bag or bulb which is connected to a nozzle, which nozzle is sufliciently elongated and rigid to permit it to serve as a conduit for conveying fluids from the bag or bulb through the body openings into the body. The collapsible bags or bulbs which are the source or reservoir of the injected fluids must be filled prior to each use of the syringe with the medication, cleaning solution, etc., which is to be used. The force which is employed to inject the fluids into the body may be supplied either by hydrostatic pressure, as where the syringe is connected to a faucet, by gravity, as where the collapsible bag containing the fluids is positioned at a high level and the fluids impressed into the body by the hydrostatic head which is developed, or by pressure developed by the manual collapse of the bulb or reservoir which contains the fluids to be injected.

Re-use of such syringes on recurring occasions requires the syringe to be thoroughly cleansed or sterilized after each use, and then refilled with the particular fluids which it is desired to use at the time of the subsequent use. Too, a major inconvenience which characterizes the use of those types of syringes which depend upon hydrostatic pressure from a faucet, or upon gravity, for their operation, is, of course, the requirement that there be available a faucet to which the device may be connected, or in the case of the gravity-actuated type, an elevated rack or projection of some type from which the fluid reservoir may be suspended. In either case, moreover, there is less control of the pressure at which the fluids are injected into the body than in the case of the type which is operated by manual compression of a collapsible bulb.

Another limitation which characterizes all of the types of syringes described hereinbefore is with respect to the types of medication which may be injected when they are used. Usually, only a single type of fluid may be stored in the reservoir, bulb or bag prior to injection. When a 3,354,883 Patented Nov. 28, 1967 plurality of fluids are to be injected, this must either be done by sequentially or successively injecting the fluids, or if they are mixed in the reservoir, they must be chemically compatible.

The present invention is a small, disposable syringe of a manually-collapsible bulb type. It is of molded plastic construction, which fact permits its size, weight, and cost of manufacture to be reduced sufficiently to permit it to be used once, then discarded. This disposable characteristic of the syringe of the invention is believed to be a novel and highly useful attribute thereof. For example, it can be carried in handbags, coat pockets, or other unobserved place during travel, and its one-use feature eliminates sanitary problems, and the inconvenience of cleaning after each use.

In addition to the advantage accruing from its small size and plastic construction, however, the syringe of the present invention presents other marked advantages over previous types of syringes by reason of the presence of additional novel structure as yet undescribed. The structure to which reference is made is a two-part assembly comprising a collapsible bulb for containing the solution or medicaments to be ejected from the syringe, and an elongated nozzle adapted to be snapped into engagement with the bulb for the purpose of conveying the contents thereof into the body cavity. The bulb is provided with a tubular neck having a pair of spaced annular ribs or protuberances formed thereon.

The elongated nozzle is generally tubular in configuration and is provided with an enlarged portion at one end which is dimensioned to telescope over the tubular neck of the bulb. A pair of spaced annular grooves are formed in the bore of the enlarged portion of the tubular nozzle which telescopes over the neck of the bulb. The grooves are dimensioned to frictionally receive the ribs on the neck of the bulb and thus permit a snap-fit engagement of the nozzle with the bulb. A tubular chamber member is secured to the internal walls of the nozzle above the annular grooves therein and projects axially in the nozzle toward the end thereof which telescopes over the neck of the bulb. The tubular chamber member is of smaller diameter than the enlarged portion of the elongated nozzle and defines an axially extending channel with the walls of the enlarged portion so that the neck of the bulb may slide axially in the nozzle.

A cap is provided for slipping over the downwardly facing open end of the tubular chamber member for retaining a solid medicament pellet in said tubular member. The cap is provided with an outwardly extending annular flange at its open end, and the flange is dimensioned to snap into the innermost annular groove in the enlarged portion of the tubular nozzle when the cap is placed in position over the tubular chamber member. This structure of the bulb permits two incompatible fluids, or a solid pellet and a fluid, which it is not desired to mix, until immediately before, or at the time of use, to be stored in juxtaposition to each other inside the syringe. In other words, one of the fluids or a solid can be stored in the chamber member and retained therein by the cap, and the other fluid can be placed in the main cavity of the bulb, where it is completely isolated from the first fluid until the syringe is used.

In preparing the syringe for use, a medicament in solid pellet form is placed in the tubular chamber member and the cap is then slipped over this member to retain the pellet in the chamber member. When the cap is prop erly seated, its annular flange snaps into the innermost annular groove in the enlarged portion of the elongated nozzle and forms a partition or barrier across the axially extending channel between the walls of the enlarged portion of the nozzle and the tubular chamber member.

The nozzle is then snapped over the neck of the bulb in a first position in which the terminal groove of the nozzle engages the terminal rib of the neck. At such time as it is desired to use the syringe, the nozzle is pushed toward the bulb to snap both grooves and ribs into engagement and to force the cap upwardly over the tubular chamber member so as to rupture the base of the cap. This permits the solid pellet to drop into the bulb of the syringe into the water or liquid medicament carried therein. These materials are thus then permitted to mix and may be injected through the nozzle into the body cavity by collapsing the bulb with the hand.

From the foregoing discussion, it will be apparent that a broad, major object of the present invention is to provide a disposable syringe which may be used to simultaneously inject a plurality of medicaments into the body through one of the natural body openings.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a syringe which may be discarded after a single use, and which is therefore more sanitary in its usage than syringes of the types heretofore used.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a syringe which is of light weight, and which is sufliciently small in size to permit it to be carried in a handbag or pocket book or the like.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a syringe which is internally compartmentalized to permit a plurality of medicaments to be stored therein without contacting each other or becoming intermixed prior to the time when the fluids are actually to be used by ejection from the syringe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a syringe of the type used to inject fluids into the human body through the natural openings therein, which syringe is relatively simple in construction, yet is mechanically durable and of sturdy construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with a perusual of the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention:

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of the syringe of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a detailed sectional view taken through the longitudinal axis of the portion of the nozzle of the syringe which is attached to the neck of the bulb of the syringe.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 illustrating the manner in which the nozzle of the syringe is moved downwardly on the neck of the syringe to rupture the cap which is used to separate a solid medicament from a liquid contained in the major cavity of the bulb of the syringe.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIGURE 1, one embodiment of the present invention comprises a bulb portion which is detachably engaged with a tubular nozzle portion 12. The tubular nozzle portion 12 is provided with suitable apertures 14 at its outer end to permit a liquid solution to be ejected from the syringe into a natural cavity of the -body. The tubular nozzle 12 and bulb 10 are each preferably constructed of a light, resilient plastic material, such as polyethylene or the like.

The construction of the bulb 10, and the end of the nozzle 12 which engages the bulb 10 are best illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. The bulb 10 includes a large liquid chamber 16 which may be filled with a suitable medicament solution or the like. The sides of the portion of the bulb 10 which define the liquid chamber 16 are involuted or deformed inwardly adjacent the top of the liquid chamber 16 as designated by reference character 17. The depressions 17 form grips for the fingers so that the syringe may be grasped in a manner to more accurately guide the nozzle 12 during the use of the syringe. The bottom 13 of the bulb 16 is flattened to permit the syringe to be rested in an upright position upon a flat surface. At its upper side, the bulb 10 carries a neck portion 20 which is provided with a pair of spaced annular ribs or protuberances 22. The upper end of the neck portion 20 is tapered to an annular edge 24 which 7 projects above the terminal annular rib 22 for a purpose iereinafter described.

The external configuration of the nozzle 12 is best illustrated in FIGURE 1 and its internal construction is best shown in FIGURE 2. Thus, the nozzle includes an enlarged portion 26 at one end thereof which is dimensioned to telescope over the neck portion 20 of the bulb 10 in a frictional fit. The enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12 is provided with a pair of axially spaced annular grooves 28 which are dimensioned to mate with the ribs 22 formed on the neck portion 20 of the bulb 10, and are spaced from each other by the same distance as is characteristic of the spacing of the ribs 22.

A tubular chamber members designated generally by reference character 30 projects coaxially downwardly inside the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12 and defines with the walls of the enlarged portion, an axially extending channel 32 which has a larger radial dimension than the thickness of the neck portion 20 of the bulb 10. The tubular chamber member 30 is provided with a bore 34 which communicates with a main bore 36 extending through the nozzle 12, and also communicates with an enlarged counterbore 38 formed in the lower portion of the tubular chamber member. The counterbore 38 is of SLllfiClCnlZ size to accommodate solid tablets or pellets of a medicament which it may be desired to retain out of contact with the liquid carried in the bulb 10 of the syringe until such time as it is desired to use the syringe and to mix these medicaments. The lower end of the tubular chamber member 30 is tapered to a sharp edge 40 for a purpose hereinafter described.

A synthetic resin cap 42 of generally U-shaped crosssectional configuration and dimensioned to snuggly fit over the tubular chamber member 38 is provided and includes a relatively thin base 44, side walls 46, and a radially outwardly extending annular flange 48. The annular flange 48 is radially dimensioned to permit the flange to snap into the innermost groove 28 in the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12 when the cap 42 is pressed over the tubular chamber member 30. This position of the cap 42 is best illustrated in FIG. 2.

OPERATION The syringe of the invention may be packaged and shipped in relatively compact form as a three-part commodity, i.e., the nozzle 12, the bulb 10, and the cap 42. In order to use the syringe, the user places a prescribed or desired medicament in the counterbore 38 of the tubular chamber member 30. The cap 42 is then pressed over the tubular chamber member 30 to a position in which the annular flange 48 snaps into the innermost groove 28 formed in the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12. The annular flange 48 is sufficiently flexible that it can be distorted downwardly in order to pass through the channel 32 between the walls of the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12 and the tubular chamber member 30 prior to reaching the annular groove 28 in the enlarged portion.

When the cap 42 is seated, the base 44 of the cap will abut the sharp edge 46 at the lower end of the tubular chamber member 30. With the cap in the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the solid pellet of medicament is retained in place in the counterbore 38 of the tubular chamber member 30, and cannot be displaced therefrom until the action hereafter described is caused to occur. It should be pointed out that the syringe may also be utilized with a liquid medicament retained in the counterbore 38 by a cap 42 if care is exercised not to invert the syringe prior to the time of use so as to permit such liquid medicament to run through the bores 34 and 36 and out through the openings or apertures 14 in the end of the nozzle 12. Such liquid medicament can be placed in the counterbore 38 by placing a small amount of the medicament in the cap 42 before placing it in position over the tubular chamber member 30.

After the particular medicament to be mixed with water or with a medicament solution carried in the bulb has been located in the tubular chamber member 30 as hereinbefore described, the bulb 10 of the syringe is next filled with water or whatever type of liquid medicament is to be employed. The bulb is then engaged with the nozzle 12 by pressing the nozzle over the neck portion of the bulb until the terminal annular groove 28 formed in the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12. This relationship is illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings.

With the nozzle 12 positioned on the bulb 10 in this manner, the syringe is ready for instant use and yet can be carried at this time without permitting any intermixing of the liquid in the bulb 10 with the medicament carried in the counterbore 38 of the tubular chamber member 30. In other words, the two types of medicament-s are not mixed at this time. This feature constitutes an important advantage of the present invention in that it is frequently desirable in devices of this type to prevent contact between the two medicaments until immediately prior to, or 'at the instant-of, use of the device. Thus, where two medicaments are to be mixed to produce effervescence or gas evolution for septic or other reasons, the active ingredients which producethe gas upon mixing must be isolated from each other until the time of use.

At the time when it is desired to use the syringe, the nozzle 12 is pressed further down upon the bulb 10 so that the neck portion 20 of the bulb is farther up into the channel 32 defined between the walls of the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12 and the tubular chamber member 30. As the neck portion 20 of the bulb 10 continues to move upwardly in the axially extending channel 32, the tapered upper end 24 of the neck portion bears against the angular flange 48 of the cap 42 and causes the base 44 of the cap to be drawn forcibly against the sharp lower edge 40 of the tubular chamber member 30. The relatively thin base 44 of the cap 42 is thus cut through or severed by the sharp lower edge 40 of the tubular chamber member 30 and ceases to provide a physical barrier preventing mixing of the solid medicament pellet in the counterbore 38 with the liquid carried in the bulb 10. The medicament pellet may thus fall or gravitate downwardly in the bulb 10 into the liquid carried in the liquid chamber 16 and the chemical interaction which is desired between the two previously isolated medicaments can commence to occur. Almost simultaneously with the severance or rupturing of the base 44 of the cap 42, the terminal rib 22 on the neck portion 20 of the bulb 10 snaps into splace in the annular groove 28 in the enlarged portion 26 of the nozzle 12 so that the neck portion 20 and the enlarged portion 26 :are firmly interconnected. It will be noted that the spacing between the ribs 22 and the grooves 28 is such that both of the ribs are interlocked with both of the grooves simultaneously as shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings.

After the bulb 10 and nozzle 12 have been forced toward each other to permit the medicaments to be mixed, the contents of the bulb 10 are ejected through the nozzle 12 by collapsing the bulb by pressure of the fingers at the grips formed by the depressions 17. Following the use of the syringe, the entire assembly may be discarded, since the syringe is very economically constructed and is intended to be a disposable item. On the other hand, if it should be desirable to employ the syringe on a subsequent occasion, the only element of the syringe structure which has been destroyed in the operation of the syringe is the cap 42 and this may be easily replaced for repeated usage.

From the foregoing description of the invention, it will be perceived that an economically constructed, disposable syringe is provided which may be more sanitarily used 6 than syringes of the type previously available, and which is adaptable to use in several different ways. Moreover, this syringe permits a plurality of medicaments to be isolated from each other until the instant of use so that deterioration of undesirable prereaction between the medicaments is avoided.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in the foregoing specification by way of example, it will be understood that a number of changes and modifications in the precise structure described may be effected Without departing from the basic principles upon which the invention is founded. It is therefore intended that syringes which incorporate structural modifications and changes, yet which do not depart from the basic principles underlying the invention, shall be encompassed by the spirit and scope of the invention except insofar as the same shall be limited by the appended claims or reasonable equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A syringe for injecting medicaments into the human body comprising:

a bored nozzle having a discharge aperture at one end thereof;

a collapsible bulb having a neck portion detachably connected to said nozzle, said neck portion having an outer free end; and

frangible means in said nozzle and defining a chamber in said nozzle for the containment of a medicament, said frangible means including a cap closing one side of said chamber and having flange means extending radially outwardly relative to the axis of the 'bore through said nozzle, said nozzle, while connected to the neck portion of said bulb, being axially movable relative to said bulb, from a first position, in which said frangible means is intact, to a second position in which said flange means cooperates with the outer end of the neck portion to effect rupturing of said cap to release said medicament into said bulb.

2. A syringe for injecting medicaments into the human body comprising:

an axially bored elongated nozzle having a discharge aperture at one end of said nozzle and having a second end;

a tubular chamber member positioned within the secend end of said nozzle and defining an annulus therewith, said tubular chamber member having a hollow interior communicating with said discharge aperture through the bore of said nozzle;

a collapsible bulb having a neck portion extending at least partially into the annulus between said tubular chamber member and the second end of said nozzle, said neck portion having an outer end positioned in said annulus, and said neck portion being movable axially relative to said nozzle from a first position to a second position; and

frangible cap means in the second end of said nozzle and extending transversely across one end of said tubular chamber, said frangible cap means including flange means extending into said annulus and cooperating with the outer end of said neck portion to effect rupturing of said frangible cap means when said neck portion is moved axially relative to said nozzle from said first position to said second position upon movement of said nozzle toward said bulb.

3. A syringe for injecting medicaments into the human body as defined in claim 2 wherein said bulb has a flat base on the opposite side thereof from said neck portion, and said bulb has finger grip depressions adjacent said neck portion.

4. A syringe for injecting medicaments into the human body as defined in claim 2 wherein said frangible cap means includes a cap dimensioned to fit over and close said tubular chamber member, said cap having a relatively easily ruptured base and having said flange secured to an edge thereof.

A disposable syringe as claimed in claim 2 wherein said nozzle and bulb are of plastic construction.

A disposable syringe as claimed in claim 2 wherein said nozzle includes an enlarged portion positioned at the end thereof opposite said discharge aperture and dimenpair of spaced annular ribs around said neck portion dimensioned to mate with the grooves in the enlarged portion of said nozzle.

A synthetic resin disposable syringe comprising: collapsible bulb having a generally cylindrical neck portion;

pair of annular ribs around said neck portion and spaced axially from each other therealong;

bored nozzle having a discharge aperture in one end thereof and having an enlarged cylindrical portion at the other end thereof, said enlarged cylindrical portion slidably surrounding said neck portion and having a pair of axially spaced, annular grooves formed therein and dimensioned to mate with said annular ribs;

tubular chamber member coaxially disposed in said enlarged cylindrical portion and dimensioned to fit in the neck portion of said bulb with clearance between the chamber member and the internal wall of said neck portion, said chamber member defin- 8 ing an axially extending channel with the wall of said enlarged cylindrical portion and having an enlarged counterbore at the open end thereof and a bore communicating with said enlarged counterbore and the bore in said nozzle; and

a cap of generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration fitted over and closing said chamber member, said cap having a relatively easily ruptured base and having an annular flange extending radially outwardly from the open end thereof of a size to bridge across said axially extending channel, whereby relative axial movement between said nozzle and neck portion in a direction towards each other causes said cap base to rupture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 826,188 7/1906 Nicholls 128-232 1,960,858 5/1934 'Strauch l28272 2,519,555 8/1950 Fields 128266 2,687,130 8/1954 Cohen 128--272 2,881,760 4/1959 McGiveran et al. l28251 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,202,062 7/1959 France.

877,707 9/1961 Great Britain.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FRINKS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SYRINGE FOR INJECTING MEDICAMENTS INTO THE HUMAN BODY COMPRISING: A BORED NOZZLE HAVING A DISCHARGE APERTURE AT ONE END THEREOF; A COLLAPSIBLE BULB HAVING A NECK PORTION DETACHABLY CONNECTED TO SAID NOZZLE, SAID NECK PORTION HAVING AN OUTER FREE END; AND FRANGIBLE MEANS IN SAID NOZZLE AND DEFINING A CHAMBER IN SAID NOZZLE FOR THE CONTAINMENT OF A MEDICAMENT, SAID FRANGIBLE MEANS INCLUDING A CAP CLOSING ONE SIDE OF SAID CHAMBER AND HAVING FLANGE MEANS EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF THE BORE THROUGH SAID NOZZLE, SAID NOZZLE, WHILE CONNECTED TO THE NECK PORTION OF SAID BULB, BEING AXIALLY MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID BULB, FROM A FIRST POSITION, IN WHICH SAID FRANGIBLE MEANS IS INTACT, TO A SECOND 